BMW 760li News

There is so much convenience in today’s basic cars, even something like a Kia Cerato, that the top-end brands are changing their approach to luxury.

The Remote Control Parking function lets drivers exit the vehicle and use the key fob with a colour LED screen to direct the car to drive into or out of a tight parking slot or garage.The logic is such a feature avoids the difficulty of the driver parking and then trying to open the doors with little room to manoeuvre.BMW Australia spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher says there's every chance the feature will make an appearance on local cars in the near future."There are some steps we have to go through to comply with Australian laws and we're working on that now," she says.The sixth-generation 7 Series still has plenty of other techno-wizardry. It has gesture recognition for audio volume controls and accepting or rejecting an incoming phone call, an inductive pad to recharge smartphones wirelessly, a touchscreen mounted on the top of the iDrive rotary controller and a bigger, brighter head-up display.There's also a new adaptive mode in the so-called Driving Experience Control settings to adjust the vehicle's transmission and throttle responses, according to the driver's inputs and the nature of the route as determined by GPS mapping and forward facing cameras.Weight has been trimmed by up to 130kg relative to the current car with carbon-fibre reinforced plastic first used on the BMW i3 and i8.

The Prime Minister's flagship fleet of high-security Holden limos is expected to be replaced with bomb and gas proof BMWs after Government sources claimed Holden had failed to bid for a lucrative $4 million plus contract to replace the ageing convoy of armoured cars.And a further armada of 20 German built cars will need to be leased for the G20 Summit in Brisbane next year - at a cost of $2 million - with foreign leaders prevented from using the Holden Caprice as it didn't meet their standards to protect against terrorist attacks.Government sources last night claimed that Holden had not submitted a bid for a new construction contract to replace the existing eight-year-old fleet of nine armour-plated Caprices - including the PM's own car "C1".Holden shutdown decision could come by Christmas. Carsguide understands that only four bids were entered, including Audi and Mercedes. The only options of a semi-local built car was believed to be a newer version of the retrofitted Holden Caprice offered by British Aerospace at a cost of $800,000 each, or a "ground up" model based on a Holden chassis, which cost $1.2 million for just one vehicle.However, neither option is believed to have been able to meet international standards for protection against attacks. The Federal Government is now expected to sign a contract to buy cheaper, off-the shelf BMW High Security 7 Series vehicles, at a cost of $525,000 each, which meet higher international standards of protection against ballistic and gas attacks - and which can be serviced in Australia.It has an existing contract through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with BMW for high security cars. The BMW option would save the government more than $3 million. They would also be available for the 20 strong fleet of security cars required for the G20, saving the Government a further $1 million.Holden last night denied it had declined to bid for the tender, claiming it had partnered with the two aftermarket companies in bids to supply armoured plated cars. "We have partnered with two bids from armoured plated companies," a spokesman for Holden said. "Holden is involved in two bids for this work and we would love to see the PM in a Caprice, and we have obviously provided caprice for this purpose before."But departmental sources disputed the claim and said Holden had "shown no interest" when made aware the tender was being let.The imminent loss of Holden as the PM's official car was revealed as the brand's parent company in Detroit, General Motors, came under pressure to reveal whether it planned to close its operations in Australia by 2016.Yesterday thousands of Holden workers were left hanging over Christmas to find out whether they would still have a job with Holden boss Mike Devereux refusing to confirm whether it would continue to make cars in Australia.Labor has accused the government of trying to kill the Australian car industry by cutting assistance by $500 million and has urged the Government to restore assistance to Holden to protect thousands of jobs.But Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss yesterday wrote to the company requesting that it reveal its intentions and reminding it that the Government had already committed a further $1 billion to the industry until 2020."An immediate clarification of GM Holden's future plans is needed to end the uncertainty for Holden's workforce, its suppliers and the people of Australia," Mr Truss said.A senior government source yesterday confirmed that Holden "was not interested" in bidding for the government security cars with the contract likely to be awarded to BMW - which once made engines for the Nazi war machine - over the coming days.The AFP is already using BMW X5s for security support vehicles for the PM claiming there was nothing in Australia built to specifications required for protection. The Government will need a total of 20 armoured BMW, Mercedez or Audis for the G20 meeting next year. It could save $1 million in lease fees by sourcing 9 of the vehicles from a new Government fleet of BMWs.Read more here: www.dailytelegraph.com.au 

...but testing has begun with early prototypes of the car that will eventually run up against the all-new Mercedes-Benz S Class that launches this year.This prototype steals body parts from the existing Seven but everything under the skin should be new and more eco-friendly.This reporter is on Twitter @paulwardgover 

BMW is preparing its 7 Series response. The bodywork is smoothly newer for 2014 but it's the hidden technology that will make the difference.This journalist is on Twitter: @paulwardgover

There are only tiny changes to the body with new bumpers, LED headlights  and tail lights, but an eight- speed ZF automatic and an updated instrument panel in the mix.

Visually, the BMW headlamps get a tweak and there are new bumpers, as well as signature kidney grilles that are slightly more prominent in line with the latest 1 Series and 3 Series cars.

The spread of the dealer network aims to keep up with demand caused by a booming population and Australia's strong economy.  Within two years, BMW will see $40 million spent on new or refurbished outlets as it shoots for 50 national dealerships.These include a second dealership in Perth ($15 million), expanded Doncaster (Victoria) premises ($10 million), a North Shore Sydney franchise ($8 million) and a new dealer at Tweed Heads.  The Perth dealership, to be built this year by the existing franchisee, is in the city's expanding northern suburbs.BMW Australia managing director Stavros Yallouridis says the expansion reflects the mechandising concept that takes the product closer to the buyer.  "We are, to a degree, a product for the impulsive buyer," he says."We have to go to the buyer and that redefines the distribution of our products. In many cases, as we expand our products with smaller cars, we have to be in city areas that demand small cars in order to sell to our target market."Yallouridis says the car market was aiming for record highs and, in BMW's case, highlighted by the 1-Series, X1, 5-Series and 7-Series."The X3 comes in next year and there's the 1-Series hatch and coupe, so sales will expand further," he says.The Audi Centre in Perth is more than doubling its floor area, taking over a neighbouring property in the high-end car retail suburb of Osborne Park. The suburb also hosts Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz.The additional building will accommodate the new 26-car showroom - effectively 2.5 times bigger than present - to display one of each of Audi's models.  Dealer principal David Collins says the investment of about $15 million was necessary."The customers demand it and we desperately need the space because of the growth in Audi sales," he says.  "In 2004 we had 120 new car sales. Now we have 1050."Audi's sales are higher than BMW's when you take out the SUVs.  "I've ordered 250 units of the A1 for 2011 because of demand."  Collins says the Q5 was "the most successful car I've ever been involved with".He says it reflects the growing trend of buyers seeking to downsize their cars yet retain quality and luxury.  BMW has recorded a 10.4 per cent national sales growth year-to-date and, with global sales this calendar year of 775,000, has surpassed Mercedes-Benz (735,000) and Audi (726,000).It has since January sold 1156 of its baby X1 SUV - now its third most popular single-body seller after the 3-Series (3326) and X5 (1955) - for 2 per cent of Australia's passenger-car market.Audi has 1.7 per cent of the car market, primed by sales year-to-date of 1458 A3s and 2521 A4s, and Mercedes-Benz has 2.6 per cent thanks primarily to its E-Class stranglehold of the $70,000-plus large luxury car sector and the robust 4242 C-Class sales.

One has two turbochargers, an eight-speed auto and a sub-5 second sprint time — but it isn't a sports car.The other has a 3.5-litre petrol V6 mated to an electric motor and, at 7.9 litres/100km, will be the cleanest, greenest luxury saloon to hit Australia.The bi-turbo car is BMW's new 7-Series luxury flagship, the 760Li, which arrives here in September with an expected $375,000 pricetag.The flagship gets a new all-aluminium 6-litre V12 engine with direct petrol injection and variable-valve timing and lift — all enough for 400kW at 5250rpm and 750Nm of torque from 1500rpm.BMW claims 13 litres/100km.But Mercedes-Benz almost cuts that consumption in half — and CO2 emissions to a mere 186g/km — with its S-Class hybrid, the S400 Hybrid.This car, one of 10 new S-Class models that may start coming into Australia in September, is the world's first standard production hybrid drive with a lithium-ion battery.The S400 Hybrid's modified 3.5-litre petrol engine has 205kW and the electric motor produces 15kW and has starting torque of 160Nm.Mercedes-Benz claims the major advantages of the lithium-ion batteries over conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries include a higher energy density, greater electrical efficiency, compact dimensions and a low battery weight.The S400's boot space remains the same shape and size as that of the S350 donor car.The S-Class range also includes S350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, S350 CDI 4MATIC all-wheel drive; the 4-litre V8 S450 CDI; S350 and S350 4MATIC; the 4.7-litre V8 petrol S450/S450 4MATIC; the S500/S500 4MATIC with 5.5-litre V8s; S600 bi-turbo 5.5-litre V12; and the two AMG versions, the 386kW 6.2-litre V8 S63 AMG and the 450kW 6-litre V12 S65 AMG.Further details of the S-Class range will be revealed next month. 

The hulking 7 Series flagship, which set the tone and direction for a whole new generation of edgy BMW bodies from 2001, has been replaced by an all-new car which is more caring, engaging and politically correct.The fifth-generation Seven still has unquestioned impact, from the way it stands on the road to the way it cuts through curves, but is much more friendly and welcoming. Predictably, it makes more power and torque in every case while using less fuel and producing less CO2.It is a step back to the days before the Chris Bangle-driven heavyweight Seven, returning the BMW headliner to the top of a range of driver's cars.The newcome will hit Australia next March, priced from a little under $200,000, and comes with the promise of more performance and luxury, as well as all the technology the German maker can load.That means everything from four-wheel steering to infra-red night vision, lane-departure and blind-spot warnings, and even a camera which recognises speed signs and reminds the driver of the limit.No-one knows yet what will be standard for Australia, but there will be two engines at first - an inline six with 240 kiloWatts for the 740 and a twin-turbo V8 for the 750 with 300 kiloWatts - with both short and long-wheelbase bodies. A diesel will follow before the end of 2009 and could easily become the showroom favourite.The design of the new Seven is softer and smoother, both inside and out, but it is the focus on people's needs which will ignite a tight fight with the Mercedes S-Class for top-end bragging rights. There is plenty of surprise and delight stuff.But the approach is really just a return to the basics which worked so well through the first four generations of the Seven, from a roomy luxury cabin to a dashboard focussed on the driver, a huge boot, lots of toys, and leather-and-wood luxury.The Seven is new from the road upwards and that means everything from a new chassis and body - with a weight saving bonnet-doors-boot combo in aluminium - to a new diesel inline six with 180kW and 540Nm, double-wishbone front suspension, and a vastly improved version of the hated iDrive system.A first drive in Germany, over a wide range of roads near the city of Dresden in the former East of the country, proved the Seven is back to its best. It is refined and comfortable, and a car which is keen to go and gives plenty of feedback and enjoyment to the driver.